Love Testing

 “This stage has tested my love for mountain biking.” This is what Phil said about day 4 of the Pisgah Stage Race.

It was a brutal day. 39 miles with 7,300 feet of climbing. But it wasn’t just those statistics that spurred Phil’s comment or the fact that I am typing on our computer perched on top of bags of ice wrapped around my quads. It might be that we didn’t realize that this event was about 10% “adventure race.” Maybe we are spoiled by Vermont’s talented trail builders that craft gradual switchback climbs and flowy downhills. Maybe we are jaded by BC’s artistic bridges and $50,000 bermed and tabletop runs. But the old school trails here that either go straight up or go straight down, that are eroded and loaded with debris can start to break you down when you are trying to race them. Don’t get me wrong, today’s course had lots of fun singletrack, which is much preferred to gravel roads. And, it took you deep into the mountains or high along ridges and you really were far away from everything. And, when you got a glimpse of the valleys, it looked just as stunning as in the movie, The Last of the Mohicans. However, the continuous hike-a-bike sections took their toll emotionally and physically and pretty soon we just wanted to get off the bike and go home. Now Vermont has it’s rugged old school trails, too, and at moments today, I could have been descending Chain Gang in Phen Basin or climbing up and over the Cottonbrook from Little River. Even the rugged trails of Hinesburg Town forest have root ladders that are almost unbearable to endlessly climb. The Vermont 50 has jeep trail full of loose stones and dried up riverbed descents. And, I will never forget the Sugarbush XTERRA where I had to bike/hike-a-bike up Plumline.

Regardless, Day 4 was long and tough. Anna, Kim and I were within minutes of each for almost the first half of the race, when I came upon Anna on the side of the trail with a broken derailleur. I felt so bad for her and was so enjoying our leap frogging that I almost teared up (so much for the hard core competitor in me)! She turned back to hike towards the previous aid station and I took the lead. Same as every day –hike-a-bike ascents to fun descents singletrack and undulating trails like Squirrel Gap and Horse Cove. A final descent down Black Mountain had me rolling into the finish at 5:48. Kim followed 10 minutes later. In the overall standings, that puts me in 2nd. So, off for another long day today but the race director has promised that the climbs will be gradul and we have four fun, long singletrack descents. We’ll see!